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Dawson Ice Magwell Problems...


jaymitch

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Hey guys...I just wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem. I just got a new Ice magwell for my G35 and it just doesn't seem to fit as tight as I feel it should. The front of it closest to the finger groves wont sit tight to the frame. I wasn't sure if I needed to remove a bit of the material from the frame to get a better fit or what.(seems to fit real tight around the frame) Any insight would be great.. Thanks

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Don't remove anything from the frame! The new magwell should push in snug against the existing frame well lips and be secure when the well is screwed into the plug. The Ice Magwell should slide entirely over the lower grip/frame of the gun.

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I thought that it should with out any problem...and it does until I try to put the screw into the plug. The lug hole does not line up with the hole on the frame unless I really lean into it, but when Id do that the front lifts off the frame. Its becoming a major pain

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Yeah, something doesn't sound right. You should be able to slip the well on all the way and then thread the small bolt tight without it moving much at all. You didn't cross thread anything did you? It's easy to do that.

Edited by lugnut
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Just needs to be worked with a bit. From a older post. " Remove the slide if you haven't already. Assuming the mounting plug is in, remove the small hex head screw. Make sure the bottom 3/8" (roughly) of the grip is free of grip tape. Just start the magwell at the "heel". While holding the gun in one hand push the nose end (with the 1/2 moon cut) up and on. Some force is needed, but not very much. This thing should fit with NO gun modifications at all."

Jim

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If you search, you will find that this has come up before - frequently. Look here.

Thanks for the link Graham. I ckecked out the pics you posted and I have the same result. I guess i'll call Dawson as well and see what they can do for me. Thanks for your help

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If you search, you will find that this has come up before - frequently. Look here.

Thanks for the link Graham. I ckecked out the pics you posted and I have the same result. I guess i'll call Dawson as well and see what they can do for me. Thanks for your help

Did you check post #12 of that link? I bet that might help. If not give em a call!

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Has anyone ever had an issue with their magazines not dropping free after installing these magwells?

Yup. Problem was solved by loosening screws until mags dropped free, noting number of turns from tight, and then removing/replacing screws with locktite to the designated number of turns.....

The other option --- applied on a THE magwelled 34, was to take a dremel and open up both the frames internal magwell and the opening of the magwell the slipped over the frame. That reduced some tension to the frame, and allowed the frame's opening to blend into the magwell's. Frame and magwell were permanently joined/mated as a result of this and the frame was rendered not legal for Production Division.....

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Has anyone ever had an issue with their magazines not dropping free after installing these magwells?

Nope... I did have a problem seating the stock mags with the well on (no issue with the Dawson Mag Extension on the mags though). I think the inner lip of the insert makes it harder to seat the mags well. I removed a little material from the magazine plates where there was intefrerence. All is good now.

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I'm having problems seating my mags with the Arredondo extensions and the ICE magwell. Other than the fact that the mags wont seat, the magwell looks to be installed perfectly. I'm not sure whether I'd rather start sanding on the mag extensions or the ICE insert. Has anybody else come across this problem?

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I just checked something with my gun. A stock mag will not seat well with the magwell. However if you remove the insert the mags click in just fine. I'd bet if you just removed a little material around the inside lip of the insert you'd be good to go too. It's easier than what I did... remove material from all the mag plates! I'm surprised others haven't run into this as well.

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Just got home from work and took the magwell off, reinstalled it, and it works fine now. When reinstalling the brass plug, I applied pressure to the top of the plug, forcing it down into the frame as I tightened up the allen screw. I guess I just didn't have it quite deep enough into the gun. The mags with the Arredondo pads seat just fine now, but it's still a very tight fit. I'm hoping that after practicing a few thousand reloads with this setup they will seat a little better. Time will tell I guess.

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I'm having problems seating my mags with the Arredondo extensions and the ICE magwell. Other than the fact that the mags wont seat, the magwell looks to be installed perfectly. I'm not sure whether I'd rather start sanding on the mag extensions or the ICE insert. Has anybody else come across this problem?

Its pretty common to grind/file some material out of the Ice insert. Some of them snap into the well better than others.

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This is what I found in my case and what I ended up doing.

Not sure if it was install error or if my hands were too big coupled with a little adrenaline.... I found that when shooting, my pinky was pushing the front of the magwell down therefore needing a 20 oz. ball peen hammer to seat the mags during a reload. I ended up dremeling some little grooves on the bottom of the frame and using epoxy and clamps to then secure the magwell to the frame. This is actually removeable with a little bit of work as the epoxy I used (bedding compound) doesn't bond as epoxy usually does to the polymer frame. I found that out when I wanted to take the magwell off of one frame and put it on another. Thats when I put the grooves on the frame to give the epoxy something to hold onto. Been that way for a few thousand rounds of factory .40 and seems to be holding up fine.

Just a note. After epoxy has cured and the clamps are taken off, make sure you use LOADED mags to check fit as they swell when filled to the brim. Yeah, I found that one out the hard way. I had to shoot every stage til almost slidelock so they would drop free instead of reloading when I really wanted to.

Brad

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Its pretty common to grind/file some material out of the Ice insert. Some of them snap into the well better than others.

I read through the original post when trying to put a heavy Dawson on a G24C and discovered the magwell was squeezing the side of the frame enough to stop mags from dropping. After sanding the inside of the magwell enough so it pushed on easily the mags started dropping out. A gun I just bought came with an ICE magwell and when I swapped it over to the old 24C it went back to have problems dropping mags so it appears there may be some frame differences between the different small frame Glocks.

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*QUOTE*

The new magwell should push in snug against the existing frame well lips and be secure when the well is screwed into the plug.

I must have got one of the "old" magwells. I had to remove some material.

Man this thread is making me nervous. My ICE magwell should be here Monday and now I'm afraid it won't work properly. :mellow:

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Well I have problem with mine. It's installed, but my mags with the Arredondo basepads will not seat with the derlin insert installed in the magwell. They seat fine with the insert out, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the magwell. What should I do?

There is no gap at the front like the photos in Graham's thread he linked to. It appears to be installed correctly.

Edited by Duane Thomas
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